Lying True
by cobalt-blue
Summary: AU sequel to Rap's True Lies. Jason arrives on Phaedos to some interesting questions. Tommy has a conniption fit. Sort of a tie in to Dinothunder
1. Default Chapter

**Author's Note and disclaimer:**  I don't own the Power Rangers.  I'm not sure who does, but I suspect that it's the Mouse.  No infringement is meant by this piece of fanfiction.  I'm writing for my own pleasure and the joy I get from weaving what I hope is a good story and the pleasure of those who read it.  No money will exchange hands with this story.  However, to the Minions of the Mouse:  If you want to hire a talented writer to come on board and write a more serious cutting edge version of the Power Rangers or a few other ideas I have, please feel free to contact me.  I'm always willing to relocate to Florida.  I'm sure you could talk to several people on here who'd be willing to help out.  So, this is only fanfiction and I'm not making any money from it.

**Setting:**  This story is meant to be an AU (that's alternate universe) sequel to Rap's story_ True Lies_.  Assume that all the events that happened in that story happened here.  The primary difference between the stories is my use of Cranston as Billy's last name, not Reeves.  The events of that story are used with her permission.  For those of you who have problems with my not pairing Kim with Tommy, I just want to point out that in that story, Kim was very much "over" Tommy and was not likely to go back to him.  And yes, I know Jason never quested for a Spirit Animal, and I myself have suggested in the past that if he did it would be a Grizzly.  However, I AM working with what Rap wrote and it was just too good to change much of.  As for the Lord of the Skies himself, I decided to use a little rumor I recently heard about a future incarnation of the Power Rangers to define what he's doing.

~*~

          "I'm tending my resignation as of the end of this session sir," Jason told the Governor.  It had been a long and hard decision, but Jason had come to the conclusion that he could no longer stand politics in the California Assembly.  There were times when he felt like his was the lone voice of reason in the State House, and he refused to be blackmailed.  It was made clear to him that he either vote the party line, or he would be branded a racist, a bigot, and uncaring by those who wanted to push their agenda's through.  It didn't matter what was right, what was moral, only what the party wanted, and Jason wasn't going to play those games.  God only knew that Jason wasn't the type to run from a fight, but lately it seemed that the fight had run from him.  That this was NOT the arena in which he was meant to carry on.  Oddly enough, he'd found that the moment he'd made the decision he felt at peace not only with himself but also with his Ninjetti spirit animal.  The red-tailed hawk had agreed with him.

          "That is most unfortunate, Jason," the governor's thickly Austrian accented voice replied from across the desk.  "I was looking forward to working with you. You have certain reputation for honesty and fairness that I will miss."  He smiled and stood, offering his hand across the desk, "But, I understand that you feel that you are needed elsewhere."

          "Yes sir," Jason replied.  "Thank you sir."

          "It's my pleasure, Jason."  He looked at the file in front of him but said nothing.

          Jason followed the big man's eyes to the folder.  He really hated not getting the chance to work with a man who'd always been something of a hero to him.  But he knew it was time to move on.  Time to keep a promise he'd made to himself back right before Billy went on his world tour with his father.  "And don't forget about my suggestion for a replacement appointee."  Jason still had two years left in his term and the man he had in mind for the job had a much better temperament for it.  "You could do a whole lot worse that Zack Taylor.  He'll work with you on what's fair."  

          "I'm sure he will, Jason," the governor followed him to the door.

          "Thank you again, sir." Jason turned as he walked out.

          The governor smiled and said, "You're welcome, Jason."  As the door closed Jason could have sworn he heard the governor say, "And may the Power protect you."

~*~

          Jason spent the next two weeks in a blur of activity.  He astonished himself with all he got accomplished in such a short time.  A little voice at the back of his mind suggested that it was his Ninjetti Spirit Animal helping clear the clutter from his life.  He really felt he was moving on to something profoundly important.  He packed his apartment and put most of his belongings in storage, he closed out his bank account, and he made the rounds among his oldest friends to say good-bye.  Kim was his last stop before he headed out.  

          They sat across from each other at Casa d'Angelo's over lunch.  It had been a pleasant lunch of reconnecting.  Kim was in third year of being the Physical Education teacher at Blue Springs Elementary.  She and Rocky had become something of an item a few years back, and Jason halfway suspected that there were wedding bells in the future some time soon.  "I got a letter from Tommy yesterday," she told him.

          "Really?" Jason asked.  Last he'd heard, Tommy was back in school working on a graduate degree.  "How's he doing?"  He smiled and added, "I can't believe he of all people is back in school."

          Kim chuckled, "I know.  He's defending his doctoral dissertation next month.  He's really excited."  She shook her head, "Who knew all those study sessions with Billy would eventually pay off?"

          Jason smiled and laughed, "I know.  I can't get over it myself, but I guess after his accident, he needed a new direction for his life." Jason paused as he thought of Tommy's racing accident a few years back.  The former Ranger leader had been well on his way to winning his first Winston Cup when a particularly nasty crash that killed several spectators in spite of Tommy's best efforts had left him with a bad taste for driving in his mouth.  Later, he'd simply wandered back to school and realized that his life as a Ranger and as a race car driver had given him a love for physics he'd never realized he'd had.

          "Well, he sure picked an unexpected one to head off in," Kim smiled at him.

          "I know," Jason leaned back against his chair as he considered the idea of Dr. Tommy Oliver, physicist.  He found the thought brought the image of another scientist to mind and that thought led to a whole new area of speculation.  

          He realized that his thoughts must have been transparent because Kim smiled at him and said, "So you gonna' talk to him?"

          "Who? Tommy?" Jase asked.

          Kim laughed, "No, Billy."

          "Well, it's going to be kind of hard not to.  After all, we're both going to be on Phaedos trying to figure out what it means to be Ninjetti."

          "You know what I'm talking about," she teased

          Jason simply raised an eyebrow and smiled.  It was an old game between them.  Kim would drop a hint or two to remind him that she knew his secret- that he'd been silently carrying a torch for the young scientist since before they got back from their mission to Phaedos to save him the first time.  With rare exceptions, he would pretend she didn't know and the two would go on with their friendship.  However, in rare instances- like today, one of them would mention something to remind the other that it was only a game.  A game that Jason knew Kim wasn't happy with but which she played out of respect for Jason's own feelings.  He sighed and leaned back, "What good would it be to tell him?  I mean it's not like he feels the same way I do.  All it would do would be to make us BOTH uncomfortable on Phaedos."

          "You don't know how he feels," Kim told him.  "You've never asked him."

          "Have you?" Jason asked.

          Kim smiled, "What if I had?"

          "Kim!  I can't believe you wouldn't tell me."

          "It's not my secret to tell, Jason," she said.  "I'm not saying that I HAVE asked.  I'm just saying that I know a lot more about our blond scientist than you might think." She giggled into her glass of tea, "After all, it's kind of hard not to know a few things about someone when you occupied their body for a couple of days."

          Jason smiled at the reminder of Billy's accident with the portable mind shield.  "So what? He told you he was gay and was secretly in love with me?"

          Again Kim shook her head, "No he didn't."  Suddenly her visage became serious, "But I do know this, his body had some strange reactions around you that it didn't have around the other Rangers."

          Jason raised an eyebrow, she suddenly had his attention, "What do you mean?"  He coughed, turned as red as the polo shirt he was wearing and then leaned in close to ask with a teasing smile, "Couldn't it have been YOUR reaction to me?"

          She laughed lightly and shook her head.  The twinkle in her eye and the slight smile she was wearing made it clear that there was recrimination in her words, "Not!  Jase, that would be like having that kind of reaction to my brother, not that you're not a lot cuter, but you know what I mean."  She leaned back in her seat and stirred her tea with the straw.  "No, that was what was so confusing.  I wasn't having that reaction around Tommy, so it had to be Billy's body reacting."  Grinning she added quickly, "I did learn one thing though."

          "Oh?" Jason asked, "what was that?"

          The mischievous twinkle in her eye lit up her whole face as she said, "That guys have it rough sometimes.  Now, I know why Billy always wore those overalls."

          Both former Rangers chuckled at that thought.  Jason realized what he was like at that age, and how difficult it was at times to keep his body from reacting at inappropriate times.  Sometimes he thought he was walking around in a state of perpetual stimulation, most of those times, he couldn't figure out why.  "I hope you learned to make allowances."

          Kim smiled, "I did.  Of course Billy had to learn to make a few for himself.  It's not easy being a girl either."

          "I'm sure he did," Jason told her.  

          Once again her voice became serious, "So, you still haven't answered my question.  Are you going to tell him?"

          Jason thought about it, "I take it you think I should."

          Kim nodded, "I hate seeing two of my closest friends alone.  I think you two would be good for each other.  It's not like you two haven't been close most of your lives."

          "I know," Jason told her.  "It's just I've never felt like this about anyone before.  I mean with Emily it was easy.  It was what was expected."  He sighed and leaned back, "And to be honest… There was never really anything there beyond affection."

          "This is different," she told him.  It wasn't a question.  She understood.

          Jason nodded, "Yeah."

          "Then you need to tell him Jason.  Either you two get together, or you go on.  This hanging in limbo isn't good for either one of you."

          Jason smiled, "I'll make you deal.  I'll talk to him the day Rocky pops the question," he smiled trying to steer the conversation back to something a little less uncomfortable.

          She just grinned and said, "That's not fair."

          "Why not?" he asked with a sneaking suspicion.

          "Because I already popped the question _to him_, last weekend."  She grinned widely, "After all, this is the twenty-first century, and I got tired of him waiting to get up the nerve."

          "What did he say?" Jason asked.

          She smiled impishly at him.  "We're setting a date next June." She leaned in close, "And no you can't tell anyone else.  Only you and Adam know, and for now I want to keep it that way.  We want to announce it on our own."

          "So why tell me?" Jason asked.

          "Because I'm trying to get you to keep from making a horrible mistake."

          "Why didn't you tell me about Billy before?"

          "Because you both had things to do.  Because it wouldn't hurt you to wait a while until you were both sure."

          "And you think that's now?" he asked.

          Kim nodded.  "Yes I do."

~*~

          Billy put down the data pad- a gift from Cestro- and sighed as he looked at the hieroglyphs on the ruins.  He was finally starting to make some progress in deciphering them.  That is when Dulcea wasn't wiping the ground up with him.  It seemed that she took the idea of having new Ninjetti on Phaedos very seriously.  Of course the fact that he'd made a royal ass of himself by wallowing in pity the last time he'd been here didn't help matters.  Now, he was finally starting to understand what his life could mean to himself- and to others.  The latter was a lesson hard learned, and had nearly cost him his life.

          "You are pushing yourself again, William," Dulcea told him from the other side of the temple.  "You do not have to solve the mysteries of the Ninjetti in a single day."  

          Billy smiled back to his mentor, "No I don't.  But it gives me something to do."

          "Is finding something to do that difficult?" she asked with a knowing tone.

          Billy shrugged, "You'd think an increased longevity would take some of the edge off my desire to crack the linguistic code immediately."

          She smiled a him and considered something for a moment.  Billy had come to learn that when she had that look about her, she was close to brooking a subject of a personal nature.  "William…, Billy…, you have been studying here on Phaedos now for several Earth years."  Billy just nodded wondering where she was going with her inquiry.  "Is it not the custom of your species to seek out a mate at this point in your lives?  Your spirit animal is a wolf, wolves are not by nature solitary, yet you choose to be alone. Why?  Why do you stay here," she gestured to the ruins, "among the dead when your world and your friends await you?"

          Billy had long ago learned that trying to lie or obfuscate to Dulcea was an exercise in futility.  He'd also realized that he could avoid a question for only so long before she would press harder.  He looked over to her and said, "I could ask the same of you.  Why are YOU alone?"

          She smiled at him and said, "Because if I should leave this plateau I would age rapidly."

          Billy smiled, " And if I go home I will age slowly."  He chuckled, "Hell, I'll age slowly here too, but here at least you understand it."

          She nodded, "And you fear aging slowly?  That is something most beings throughout the galaxy desires."

          "It wouldn't be a problem if everyone else aged just as slowly…"

          "Or one other person?" she asked.  Billy nodded.  A thought came to her, "Billy? You aren't looking toward me as a possible mate are you?"

          Billy blushed deeply and chuckled as he shook his head, "Uh, no.  You are a very attractive woman Dulcea, but I'm not really looking for that in my life from anyone."

          She smiled and said, "That is probably for the best.  Like you, I have no desire to outlive a lover."  Then she leaned back against the rock, "However, I should point out that among the Ninjetti, an expanded lifespan is NOT that unusual."

          He looked up at her startled, "But there are no more Ninjetti, except me and the other Rangers."

          She chuckled, "Then perhaps you should look there.  Maybe Kimberly, she has a kind heart, or perhaps Jason, there was a certain look in his eyes when he was ready to fight me to save you."

          "Dulcea!  Kimberly's one of my closest friends.  Besides, last I heard, she and Rocky were an item."

          "There is still Jason," she suggested.

          "Dulcea…" he began but she cut him off with a look.  

          "Think about it William.  It is not good for you to be alone."

          Billy felt the flush rise in his face.  _What about __Jason__?  Did Dulcea really see something in his eyes?_ _What about what he felt?_  It was definitely something for Billy to consider.  Billy's mind wandered back to all those sleepovers at his house when they were teenagers- all those work-outs in the park.  Jason had always been like a big brother to him, someone he could always count on.  Billy had never understood why he'd been able ingenerate such loyalty from the former Ranger leader.  Loyalty that had led Jason to defy Tommy's unspoken ban on associating with him after he gave up the Power.  

          Billy started considering his own reactions to Jason's presence in his life and when he'd left it.  He'd never realized how much he'd missed Jason after the burly teen had left for the Peace Conference until after he'd come back- how much he'd missed him when he'd gone to Aquitar, and then to Phaedos.   For the first time in his life, Billy found himself seriously pursuing thoughts in an arena in which he had really very little experience- that of the heart.  Sure he'd had his own ups and downs in his fairly shallow love-life.  It had always been easier to hide in his lab than deal with the unfathomable complexities of romantic relationships.  

          He remembered how easy Kim and Tommy had made it seem, then how easily Tommy had taken up with Kat.  He'd been awed at the ease in which the former Green then White, then finally Red Ranger had moved from relationship to relationship- as if picking up a new girl friend was like changing uniforms.  Zack had always been in pursuit of the elusive Angela.  Jason had…, well Jason had been simply Jason- a rock in his life.

          Again his mind wandered back to a day trip Jason had gone on him to a Science Convention in Santa Barbara before the Red Ranger had gone to Geneva.  He had been surprised when Jason had agreed to go with him, and was even more pleasantly surprised when he seemed genuinely interested in what was going on on the symposium floor.  Later, they'd had lunch at a small outdoor café and had talked quite a bit.  

          Billy found that he still had very vivid memories of that afternoon- no to be honest with himself, he barely remembered the symposium, but his memories of Jason were anything but vague.  The way his smile lit up at some joke one or the other had told.  He remembered the way Jason's midnight eyes would sparkle when the sunlight caught his face just right. He could literally see in his mind the texture of his red polo shirt stretched taught across his broad chest and tapering down into his jeans.  The old wide belt he liked to wear hugging his hips. The stress wears on his jeans turning the denim white around the pockets and at the bulge in front…. 

          _Whoa!  Where had that come from?  He tore himself from the memory, and looked down embarrassed at the effect his thoughts had had on his own anatomy. He realized it had been there all along, sublimated beneath his science experiments, his techno-speak and his old overalls.   Suddenly his feelings about Jason joining him on Phaedos to learn more about the Ninjetti morphed from the excited pleasure of seeing a close friend, to something both invigorating and frightening at the same time.  Looking over at Dulcea he blushed even deeper as she smiled at him as if she realized to where this thoughts had drifted._

          Jason was due to arrive in two days.  He needed to talk to Trini.


	2. Zord Sludge uh coffee at Dawn

  


* * *

  
  
The cave was dark and damp but the acolyte neither noticed nor would have minded had he noticed as he made his way deeper into its cavernous depths. The message he'd received was over ten planetary cycles old but it was possibly the most important message to ever be received by one of his kind. It had taken a long time for it to reach the outer edges of the far side of the galaxy. It simply said, "The Great Ooze was dead- The Ninjetti have been reborn in the System of the Rings."  
The acolyte felt his outer carapace shudder with the anticipation of delivering this news to the Masters. He picked up his pace down the narrow passageway, his fore-claws clicking against the stone floor. Once- a thousand thousand lifetimes ago, these halls had been teeming with life and activity. Then had come the Great War with the Ninjetti, a disastrous war that resulted in the Old Ones being forced into the Dark Sleep. It had been long eons of sleep and now was the time for the great awakening. The rise of the Ninjetti again was the second sign they'd been awaiting for. The seals on the sleeping chambers were beginning to weaken. Soon they would break and the Old Ones would pour forth to spread once again across the galaxy. The first world that would fall would be the home world of the hated Ninjetti. The Acolyte had already dispatched the Hunters to their hearthworld. Soon there would be no intelligent life left on that accursed planet.  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
Stretching catlike, Trini checked the clock as she made her way down the hall toward the front door. Who could be knocking at 5:30 on a Saturday morning? These kinds of morning visits never bode well for her in the past. They usually meant some form of emergency- when young, with her family; later, at the hospital. Opening the door she was surprised to find a rather worried looking old friend standing there. "Billy? What's wrong?" Sudden images of some horrible disaster that might bring him all the way from Phaedos without warning came flooding to her mind.  
"Uh, hi Trini," he said sheepishly. "Can I come in?"  
Stepping aside, she gestured for him to enter. "Of course." Closing the door behind her, she asked again, "What's wrong, Billy?"  
"Nothing is wrong, I just needed to talk."  
"About?" she asked, sensing something important was on his mind. "You don't usually just arrive out of the blue at the break do dawn."  
He smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry about that." Shrugging again, he said, "I forgot to factor in the interstellar time differences. I'm a little distracted right now."  
She gave him a long look. He looked good for the most part- healthier than she'd seen him in a long time. He was obviously tanned an in better shape than most men his age- then again most men his age didn't look nineteen. Physically he looked good, but there was obviously something distressing him. He looked like something had given him a bad jolt. Smiling she wrapped her housecoat around her and gestured toward the kitchen. "Come on in. I'll fix you a cup of coffee and we can talk." He ran his fingers through his shaggy blond hair and she couldn't help thinking, He needs a haircut. Squashing the thought, she smiled and began to fill the coffee maker. "Do you still like that 'Zord sludge you call coffee?"  
Billy was staring out the window at the Southern California sunrise over the Eastern Mountains and sighed. "Huh?"  
She smiled and thought. Must be something pretty serious to have him this distracted. "I asked you if you still liked your coffee strong enough to power a 'Zord." She finished filling maker and got it started before sitting down at the table with two cups to wait on the coffee.   
"That's fine," he said as he joined her.   
"Billy, what's eating you?" she said.  
He blushed deeply again, reached for his glasses that weren't there and smiled. "I find myself in need of the counsel of an old friend, and you've always been capable of discerning my frustrations in the past."  
She smiled, "Must be something serious to bring you all the way from Phaedos before dawn."  
"Again, I apologize for my lack of forethought."  
"Now that's a first," she replied. Billy simply chuckled. She reached out and laid a hand gently on his arm and asked, "What's on your mind Billy?"  
"I've been engaging in a series of self examinations at the behest of Duclea and have come to rather disturbing conclusion," he said still obviously nervous.  
Trini raised an eyebrow, "Oh. What have you discovered? Does it have anything to do with the Ninjetti?"  
Billy shook his head, "No. It has more to do with myself." Then he added softly, "and maybe someone else." Trini had an idea where this was going, but she bided her time. Billy would tell her what was on his mind in his own time in and in his own way. She simply nodded. "I've been conversing with Dulcea. She seems to believe that I need companionship beyond that of fraternity or simple friendship."  
Trini raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like Billy to discuss these kinds of things with strangers. Then again, living for five years on Phaedos with only one other person for conversation might be enough to get him to open up enough to carry on that kind of discussion. "And what did you discover?" She silently hoped that she was wrong about his reason for being here. Billy had had too much heart break in his life- the death of his mother, his years of being picked on, giving up the Power, almost dying. She quickly sent up an entreaty to whatever gods who heard the prayers of young warriors to let her fears be wrong. She didn't think that she could bring herself to break his heart again.   
He twisted in his hair, again reaching up for the glasses that weren't there. "I've been thinking back over our days as Rangers. I've come to realize a few things about what I was feeling during that time. It was something so profound that I never even realized it until just a few days ago."  
"And what was that Billy?"  
His green eyes sparkled in the new sunrise. Again the red rose in his face as he blushed. "I came to realize that there was someone who'd so intertwined their lives with mine that the very thought of them not being there is distressful. Surprisingly enough, I hadn't realized it myself until it was pointed out. I've been hiding from that as much as I've been studying the ruins on Phaedos."  
She sighed and poured them each a cup of coffee, still hoping against hope that he wasn't heading toward what she thought he was heading. She couldn't do that to him or to Jase. "You're telling me that you realized that you've been in love with someone and didn't realize it?"  
He nodded, "Or maybe didn't acknowledge it. I think somewhere in my subconscious that I knew what was happening, but was too frightened by the prospect to focus on it." He gave her a long look, but said nothing else.   
Trini understood. She would have to ask the questions to get him to talk. He may have come here on his own, but he still needed her prodding, much like she would do back in their Ranger days, to get him to actually talk about it. That gave her some hope. Maybe he came to her, because she understood what he was trying to say, and wouldn't force him to translate it from Billy-speak. "Do you think this person knows?"  
He nodded, "I have reason to believe that the emotion might be reciprocated, although we both seem too stubborn to actually broach the subject." He sighed, "I've come to talk to you about the best way to do that."  
"You want to act on what you're feeling?" she asked. Billy nodded, "And you want my advice on how to go about it?"   
Again Billy nodded. "Affirmative."  
"Do you wish to share the identity of the person?" she asked, mentally crossing her fingers for the right answer.  
Billy blushed again and chuckled. "I'm nearly frightened to give the name utterance for fear that it would make it reality."  
"So you don't want to tell me who yet?" she asked.  
She saw a fear wash over his eyes, and then he squashed it viciously. He swallowed hard and locked eyes with her. Then in a voice barely audible said a single name. A name that sent relief crashing through her like a wave on the beach, " Jason."  
Handing him his cup she sat down across from him. Refusing to drop his gaze, she sipped her coffee and forced her own breathing back under control. Finally she smiled and said, "It's about damn time."  
"Trini!" Billy said.   
"Don't be so shocked, I know how to curse," she told him with a smile.  
"But I've never heard it," Billy told her with a grin. "Still, I'm surprised that everyone seemed to know about it, except me."  
She smiled and watched him sip from his coffee. "You two have always been closer than just the bros that Jason likes to call you. You were practically raised together from the age of ten. Plus, you didn't see how Jason was while he was in Geneva. He kept talking about Angel Grove and how much he missed it." Reaching across the table she gently touched his arm again, "After a while, Zack and I both noticed that anytime he talked about Angel Grove he usually got around to talking about you."  
"Oh," he said.  
"Why didn't someone point this out to me then?" he asked.  
"Would you have listened?"  
"Probably not," Billy was honest enough to admit.  
"Besides, it didn't really click until we all went to Phaedos when you got sick." She shook her head and grinned remembering Jason's reaction to finding out Billy was dying. How he was willing to tear through whatever got in his way to save Billy . She remembered the dark eyes in the night as they watched Billy during his recovery, the intensity of his drive on the Quest for the Great Power. Jason was so in love with Billy that it was almost tangible, and Billy never seemed to notice- until now. She sighed and leaned back. "So what are you going to do about it?"  
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I have no idea what to do about it."  
"Talk to him. Shouldn't he be on Phaedos soon?" she asked.  
Billy nodded, "Affirmative. He's due to arrive day after tomorrow."  
"Then tell him how you feel. Tell him how sorry you are that you haven't acknowledged it before. Don't let the time that's past come between you."  
"You think he'll listen?" Billy asked. She could tell he was starting to beat himself up for not noticing before. "I know he'll listen to anything you have to say Billy. He was ready to rip Dulcea's head off to save you. That says a lot about him."  
"It's really rather frightening when you take the time to actually analyze it," he told her.  
"It's the way he is. Talk to him."  
Billy nodded, "I know. I will."   
  



	3. Exactly how Dr Tommy Oliver fits into Di...

          Jason took a deep breath and said silently to himself; _Here we go_, just before he hit the stud on his communicator.  The teleport was as long as he remembered it.  He wasn't sure exactly where Phaedos was in the galaxy, but he figured it was a long way off.   At first he'd wondered how they were still able to teleport with the Power Chamber destroyed after Zordon's death.  Billy had explained to him that he and Cestro had set up a series of relays using much of the equipment they'd managed to salvage from the wreckage.  They were able to access the teleportation grid whenever it wasn't in use, which was most of the time.  "Active Rangers get first Priority," Billy had said.

          Just as he was beginning to wonder if the teleport had gone wrong, he felt the jar of the ground beneath his feet- long distance teleporting still tended to result in rough landings.  Looking around, he saw the beach at the foot of the plateau was deserted.  The last time he'd been here, he hadn't had much time to admire the scenery.  Now he took a moment to look around and marvel at the wild beauty of this ancient planet.   

          Huge boulders littered the seashore as the waves slowly and inexorably pounded them into smaller boulders, then into rocks and pebbles, and finally into fine sand to be washed away to some other distant shore.  Taking a deep breath of the early morning air he smiled at its taste.  It was clean and crisp, reminding him of times he and the other Rangers would go camping in the forest just north of Angel Grove, up around Harper's Gorge.  

          Shouldering his pack, which contained several changes of clothes, various toiletries, food, and a huge bag of Dove Chocolate bars for Billy, he made his way up the boulders toward the plateau. It was well into the afternoon when he finally reached the top of the escarpment that was the Ninjetti temple.  His legs ached from the exertion of the climb, but it was a good kind of ache.  The kind of ache that reminded him that he was alive, that he was here, and that he still had his whole life ahead of him.  

          "Welcome, Jason," Dulcea said as he ascended the last few steps into the Ninjetti temple.  "It has been a long time since you were last here."  She smiled coming down the short set of stairs leading to the back section of the temple. 

Jason looked around.  There were signs of recent repairs all around the ruins.  "It looks like you've been busy around here."

The master warrior smiled and looked at an area where a low wall was being repaired.  "Billy thought it best to strengthen the walls along the edge of the plateau.  He said that if your friend Zack should visit, it would be unfortunate if he should step off the edge while walking in his sleep."

Jason chuckled, remembering Zack's penchant for sleepwalking, "Yeah, well Zack does have that habit."  Looking over the edge to the steep slope that led to a sheer drop of perhaps a thousand feet to the rainforest canopy below he said, "And that first step is kind of a big one."

Dulcea smiled and gestured toward him, "Come, let me show you where we've prepared a room for you.  It is not very elaborate, but it at least keeps you out of the elements."

"Beats sleeping on the cold stone floor like the last time," Jason agreed and followed her up the short flight of steps to the entrance into the main temple of the Ninjetti.  As he entered the ancient halls, Jason felt something stir inside him.  It was something like he'd not felt since the first time he called on the Morphin' Powers.  He felt like he was coming home.  Deep in his mind he felt the red-tailed hawk soar on the wings of his soul.

The floor sloped downward slightly as they reached an intersection in the temple, and Jason realized that they were traveling underground- down inside the plateau.  He noted the tight workmanship of the alien stone and the detail of the mosaics on the walls.  Dulcea gestured toward the left and said, "Yours and Billy's quarters are down this hall.  There are also several other rooms that have been prepared should any of the other male Ninjetti wish to visit."  She looked back toward the opposite direction.  "My quarters are down that way, as well as spare quarters for Kimberly, Trini and Aisha."

Jason chuckled, "Still quartering us by sex huh?"

Dulcea smiled, "It was Billy's idea not mine.  In the old days, both sexes trained, bathed and slept together.  Such concerns as modesty did not apply to the code of the Ninjetti."

"Somehow, I don't think Kimberly, Trini, or Aisha would care much for that idea." Jason said.  

"Neither does Billy," Dulcea said.  "He's very protective of his modesty for some reason.  I'm not sure I understand why."

Jason nodded as they entered the small room she indicated.  It was Spartan, with only a low shelf with some sort of padding for a bed.  Under the shelf were a series of wooden boxes for storage. In one corner sat a heavy stone shelf that acted as a makeshift desk with a wooden stool.   Above the desk, carved into the stone walls themselves, were several shelves for books or other personal items.   Jason noticed that a low glow emanated from a single strip of stone perhaps a foot wide that circled walls just below the ceiling.  "He's always been that way.  You should have met him in his overall days."

          "Overalls?" Dulcea asked.

          Jason smiled, "It's a long story."

          "Jason?" Something in her voice told Jason that Dulcea's next question was important.  "May I ask you a question of personal nature?

          Jason turned and faced the Master Warrior, "It depends on the question.  You can ask anything you want.  I may not answer however," he told her.

          She smiled and nodded, "Agreed.  Why did you come here?"

          "To learn about the Ninjetti, what it really means to be Ninjetti," Jason told her.

          "Why now?" she asked.

          "Because I made a promise to myself and Billy that I would do it," he told her.

          "Is that the only reason?"

          Jason shook his head, "No, also as strange as it might seem, I feel drawn here.  Something in me wants me to be here, so here I 

am."

          She smiled and said, "That's good enough of a start."  Turning from the room she told him, "I'll leave you to get settled.  Your first training session begins in two hours when Billy returns."

          "He's gone where?!" Tommy demanded.

          "You heard me," Trini told him calmly. "He's gone to Phaedos."

          "Why in God's name would he go there?" Tommy asked again.  

          "I don't know, maybe because he promised himself and Billy that he would."

          "He was just a kid then," Tommy protested.  "I can't believe that Billy would hold him to that promise.  Just because he's hiding away from the rest of the world doesn't mean that the rest of us have to."

          "Billy is not hiding," Trini replied not sure if her own heart reflected the conviction she projected into her voice.  "Besides, this isn't about just Billy.  Ever since Jason, Zack, and I went on our Quest, Jase has been interested in knowing what it means to be Ninjetti."  She leaned across the counter of his lab and locked eyes with him.  "Just because you're not interested in it doesn't mean he isn't."

          Tommy was taken aback by the ferocity in her eyes.  "I was hoping for him to help me with my new project," he protested. "It's important!"

          "So is this," Trini told him.

          Tommy turned away shaking his head, "I can't believe he'd do this to me."

          "To you?" Trini asked coldly.  "Since when did Jason going to Phaedos have anything to do with you?  We're not YOUR team anymore Tommy.  We're all adults now, we've all got our own lives to lead."

          Tommy spun on her, "Yeah, we've all got our own lives to lead.  Me, I'm trying to make sure there's always a Ranger team out there to protect the planet."  He leaned across the table and locked eyes with her.  "In case you haven't noticed, the teams that have been coming after us have been having a shorter and shorter life span."

          "Tommy, this isn't your job," Trini told him.  

          "It IS my job," he told Trini.  "Billy's run his ass off hiding on Phaedos, so somebody's got to take up his slack."

          Trini stepped back stunned at Tommy's words.  "You can't really believe that!"

          Tommy shook his head, "Yes I do.  He has a gift, and intellect that is so beyond anything I've ever seen.  He's got a lifespan that three times that of a normal human and what does he do with it?  He goes off to an alien planet and starts rooting around a bunch of ruins, when he could be here helping me with important research.  He owes it to the world to use what he's got for the good of the planet."

          The look in Tommy's eyes worried Trini.  "What kind of research, Tommy?" Trini asked.  "What is so important that you feel the need to take more from Billy than he's already given?"

          "Which isn't much," Tommy said, "compared to how much he has to give."

          Trini gave him a long look, "Tommy what are you talking about?  He gave four years as an active Ranger, then two years working 

behind the scened.  He almost gave his life," she put her hands on her hips and looked him in the eye and added, "to save yours I might add."

          "I know what he's done Trini," he said.  He ran his fingers through his short-cropped hair and looked around as if to buy time to collect his thoughts.  "It's just I really need his help and he's off on Phaedos.  Now you're telling me Jase is there too."

          Trini nodded, "Yeah, Jase is there.  He's gone there for several reasons, so I don't expect him back any time soon."

          That seemed to catch Tommy's attention, "What reasons?"

          Trini shook her head and gently touched his arm, "They're his reasons.  If he wants anyone else to know, he'd tell us."

          Tommy stopped for a moment and considered her words.  "I guess I'll just have to find someone else.  Jase was sort of my last hope from the Rangers.  I asked Billy and he turned me down flat.  Said he'd had enough watching other people running around in spandex." He made quotation marks with his fingers at the last word.  "Whatever that means," He sighed and continued, "Justin just wasn't up to the job, and the Time Force Rangers laughed at me, although I was able to get a little information out of the Quantum Ranger about his Q-Rex."

          "Tommy, if you can't figure out what that means then maybe you don't deserve that doctorate after all."

"Oh, I know what it's supposed to mean.  He's still upset about the rest of fighting while he was staying out of the way, doing what he does best.  What he does better than I do." 

Tommy, what are you working on?" Trini asked suddenly worried.

          "If you must know, I'm trying to recreate the old Dinozords.  I've been trying to upgrade them, but I can't follow Billy's notes.  He 

started looking into the idea of combining dinosaur DNA with cybernetic technology."

          "Why Tommy?" Trini asked.

          "I have my reasons," Tommy told her, making it clear she'd get no more out of him on the subject.  Looking up at the clock he quickly added as if to dismiss her, "Look, I've got an appointment.  I've got to go.  I'm sure you can find your way out."

          "Yeah," Trini said with a note of sadness to her voice that didn't quite pierce Tommy's mood.  "I'll see you later _Doctor_ Oliver."


End file.
